Even though Danny Salazar has come up to the major leagues and gotten results, the organization has not done the best job of developing starting pitching in recent years. There are a few pitchers making waves now, but long-term success will rely on more than one or two arms. Joseph Colon is one of those guys Cleveland needs to develop in order to have more starting depth and he showed what he is capable of Thursday. To read all about Colon's night and everything else you need to know about the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

The Binghamton Mets came into Akron Thursday night fresh off of clinching the Eastern Division. Not that the Akron Aeros cared. The Aeros (62-68) defeated the B-Mets (81-50) by a score of 7-3 thanks to four Binghamton errors and a four-run first inning.

The ups and downs of a long baseball season can affect even the best players. There was a point when Carolina second baseman Joe Wendle and Lake County right-hander Dylan Baker were red-hot, yet of late, the pair had struggled. That was not the case Wednesday night as both broke out in big ways. To read about their night and everything you need to know about Wednesday in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

If the title of Wednesday’s Akron game at Erie was “The Return of Matt Packer,” then the sub-title might have been “Business As Usual.” Packer, the Aeros all-star lefty, dealt seven innings of three-hit, one-run baseball to earn his 11th win of the season, as the Aeros defeated the SeaWolves, 5-1, at Jerry Uht Park. The Aeros (61-68) took two of three games in the series.

In this week’s opening Minor Happenings salvo, Tony takes a look at the excitement that is brewing with Low-A Lake County right-handed pitching prospect Dylan Baker and why he is one of the Indians best pitching prospects. He also provides several comments from Ross Atkins on players at Double-A Akron such as Tyler Holt, Carlos Moncrief, Will Roberts and others, and provides lots of insight into the development of Jesus Aguilar, Luis DeJesus, Caleb Hamrick, Sean Brady, Jorge Martinez and others.

The Akron Aeros were above .500 in a week for the first time since mid-July, winning four of their seven games as they moved their record to 60-67. The winning still leaves Akron seven games out of first place and the wild card, though with a young team, the growth shown by the Aeros throughout the season is a win on its own. To read about Tyler Naquin's first week, Jesus Aguilar setting records, and everything else you need to know, join Jim Piascik and go Launching off with the Aeros.

Over the years at the minor league level, lots of players come and go, and many fade from memory over time. After Saturday night, one thing is for certain. Jesus Aguilar will never be forgotten by Akron Aeros fans.
Aguilar, Akron's gregarious, 6-foot-3, power-hitting first baseman, added another chapter to his MVP-worthy season when he laced a two-run double in the eighth inning that gave the Aeros the lead and paved the way for a 5-3 victory over the Reading Fightin Phils at Canal Park.

It turns out that a change of scenery back to the friendly confines of Canal Park was exactly what the Aeros needed to snap their troublesome, six-game losing streak. Jesus Aguilar’s towering, tape-measure, three-run home run to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning rescued the Aeros from a 2-0 deficit, and led to a thrilling, 3-2 win over the Reading Fightin Phils before a crowd of 8,688, at Canal Park.

In today’s week ending edition of Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at High-A Carolina outfield prospect Jordan Smith who continues to make incremental progress and has the skills but has a few things he is still working on before he is taken more seriously as a prospect. In addition to that he provides some comments from Ross Atkins on how the organization prioritizes prospects for trades as well as comments on several players at Carolina and Lake County, plus he provides insight into the development of Paolo Espino, Kyle Crockett, Ryan Merritt, Luis Lugo and others.

Is there anything better than seeing a top prospect take his team to victory? Sure, Lake County would not have won 1-0 without a shutout pitching performance, but Dorssys Paulino's solo home run provided all the offense the Captains needed. Paulino has continued to turn things around following his rough start and he sustained that constant progress Thursday night. To read about Paulino and everything else you need to know about the night in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he goes Around The Farm.

In the final game of a very disappointing road trip, the Akron Aeros held a late lead but allowed six runs in a devastating eighth inning as they were defeated by the Richmond Flying Squirrels 9-6 on Thursday night at The Diamond in Richmond, Virginia.

Hoping to turn their luck around against Richmond Wednesday night, the Aeros couldn't stop Richmond from scoring late in the game as an eighth inning three run home run by Richmond's Mark Minicozzi took the game right out of the Aeros hands, and they lost 4-3.

Considering that Carlos Santana, Yan Gomes, and Lou Marson were all not developed in the organization, it is great to see catchers like Jake Lowery and Alex Lavisky performing like they did Wednesday night. The catching depth looks good in the minors and Lowery and Lavisky are a part of that. To read about what made their performances noteworthy and everything else you need to know about Wednesday night in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

Tuesday night in Richmond, the Akron Aeros faced off against the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Akron put the pressure on the Squirrels early, scoring three runs in the top of the second inning, but Richmond came out on top, 7-6.

In this week’s first edition of Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the strides that Lake County right-hander Robbie Aviles is making but also looks at the warning signs of possible trouble up ahead with him. He also provides several comments from the front office on High-A Carolina players such as Joe Colon, Tony Wolters, Louis Head, Nick Pasquale, Bryson Myles and others, provides the whereabouts of Adam Plutko and why he is not pitching, and has a detailed infirmary report on just about every injured player in the minors.

Needing a winning streak to get back into the Eastern League playoff race, the Akron Aeros went the other way, losing four of six games and falling to 56-64. That mark leaves the Aeros 8.5 games out of first place and 7.5 games out of the wild card. To read about the Aeros debut of a 2013 draft pick, the two catchers making waves, and everything else you need to know from the past week, join Jim Piascik and go Launching off with the Aeros.

The Aeros held a tight lead with only one out left to go, but the Trenton Thunder scored once in the ninth and once more in the bottom of the 13th to defeat Akron 3-2 on Saturday night at Arm & Hammer Stadium in Trenton, New Jersey.

In today’s Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the quiet but good season that Double-A Akron first baseman Jesus Aguilar has had, what improvements he has made, what kind of impact he could have in Cleveland and when he could arrive in the big leagues. He also discusses the emergence of Joseph Colon as a legit starting pitching prospect, the kind of prospect Nellie Rodriguez is, provide tons of quotes from the front office on Akron players such as Kyle Crockett, Jeff Johnson, Jake Lowery and others, and more!

After being sent down to Triple-A, Vinnie Pestano has pitched like a man consumed by the desire to get back to the major leagues. To read all about Pestano's night, how he could fit back into the major league bullpen, and everything else you need to know about the night in the minor leagues, join Arthur Kinney as he takes you Around The Farm.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!